People v. Schmidt

124 Misc. 2d 102, 478 N.Y.S.2d 482, 1984 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3159
CourtCriminal Court of the City of New York
DecidedApril 30, 1984
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 124 Misc. 2d 102 (People v. Schmidt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Criminal Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Schmidt, 124 Misc. 2d 102, 478 N.Y.S.2d 482, 1984 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3159 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Irving Lang, J.

Universally recognized as the most effective weapon in New York’s arsenal of statutes aimed at drunken drivers is subdivision 2 of section 1192 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. That section provides, in relevant part: “No person shall operate a motor vehicle while he has .10 of 1 per centum or more by weight of alcohol in his blood as shown by chemical analysis of his blood, breath, urine or saliva”. (Vehicle and Traffic Law, § 1192, subd 2.)

In his motion to dismiss, defendant asserts that the legislation is unconstitutional. Defendant claims, in essence, that since subdivision 2 defines criminal behavior solely in terms of a mathematical measure of blood alcohol content, it fails to provide constitutionally adequate notice of its prohibition to prospective violators.

Given that the proscribed conduct at issue here is defined in exact, quantitative terms, the seminal question is not the traditional “void for vagueness” argument but in [103]*103reality whether subdivision 2 of section 1192 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is, to paraphrase California’s highest court, void for preciseness. (Burg v Municipal Ct., 35 Cal 3d 257, 198 Cal Rptr 145.)

THE FACTS

On May 31, 1983, Officer Joseph Malley of the Manhattan North Intoxication Unit was conducting a roadblock at the Triborough Bridge. Every car passing the roadblock was stopped, and each driver was checked for overt indicia of intoxication. At approximately 12:55 a.m., defendant Earle Schmidt was stopped and ordered to exit his vehicle. The officer noticed that the defendant was unsteady on his feet, his eyes were bloodshot, and his breath smelled of alcohol.

Defendant Schmidt was arrested and was administered a breathalyzer test. The test results indicated that defendant’s blood alcohol content was .10 of 1%. Defendant was subsequently charged with violating subdivision 2 of section 1192.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE

Traffic deaths in the United States exceed 50,000 annually. Of the fatalities on the nation’s highways, approximately one half are alcohol related. {Burg v Municipal Ct., 35 Cal 3d, at pp_-_, 198 Cal Rptr, at p 146, citing US Dept of Transp, 1977 Highway Safety Act Report, Appendix A-9, table A-l.) The Supreme Court has observed that “[t]he increasing slaughter on our highways * * * now reaches the astounding figures only heard of on the battlefield.” (Breithaupt v Abram, 352 US 432, 439.) Specifically, in New York State alone, there were 1,947 fatal accidents in 1982. Alcohol was an apparent contributing factor in 785 of those deaths. (NY Dept of Motor Vehicles, Summary of Motor Vehicle Accidents, MV-144A.)

The Legislature’s response to this growing problem has been to increase the penalties for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and to make convictions easier to obtain.1 {People v Molina, 121 Misc 2d 483; L 1981, ch 910, § 4.)

[104]*104Driving while intoxicated was first classified as an offense in the laws of New York in 1910.2 Convictions under that statute were based solely on the defendant’s conduct and demeanor at the time of arrest. (People v Cruz, 48 NY2d 419.) The statute did not define “intoxication” or “operation of a motor vehicle”. Its focus was on punishment; a first offense was treated as a misdemeanor and the second as a felony. The Appellate Division, in 1910, interpreted the prohibition against driving while intoxicated to mean “that one shall not be affected by alcoholic beverage to such an extent as to impair his judgment or his ability to operate an automobile.” (People v Weaver, 188 App Div 395, 400.)

The next statutory modification came in 1926 when a new felony was created — causing serious bodily injury to another while driving in an intoxicated condition.3 This was followed in 1929, by the repeal of the 1910 statute and the enactment of subdivision 5 of section 70.4 The felony/ misdemeanor distinction was retained and the major difference between the two provisions involved license suspension and revocation. Under the earlier statute, suspension and revocation were discretionary, whereas the later statute mandated revocation if the driver was convicted of driving while intoxicated.5

In 1939, the National Safety Council Committee on tests for intoxication reported on the relationship between blood alcohol content and intoxication. The Committee established three “zones of influence” — (1) any person having up to .05% of alcohol in the blood was considered not to be under the influence of alcohol; (2) any person having .05% and less than .15% of alcohol in the blood was considered to be possibly under the influence of alcohol; (3) any person having .15% or more of alcohol in the blood was presumed to be under the influence of alcohol. The American Medical Association officially adopted this classification scheme. (1 [105]*105Erwin, Defense of Drunk Driving Cases [3d ed], § 14.02 [2], pp 14-6 - 14-7.)

In 1941 the New York Legislature allowed test results indicating blood alcohol content (hereinafter BAG) to be admitted at trial.6 It was at this point in the evolution of the drunk driving statute that the Legislature attempted to define intoxication in scientific, mathematical terms. Specifically, a finding that a driver had .05 of 1% or less by weight of alcohol in his blood was admissible as prima facie evidence of no intoxication. A test result indicating more than .05 but less than .15 of 1% BAG was considered relevant evidence of intoxication. A BAG of .15 or above was deemed prima facie evidence of intoxication.

In the postwar period, the incidence of motor vehicle accidents and fatalities received national attention. The existence of blood alcohol evidentiary provisions and license revocation penalties did not serve as an adequate deterrent.7 In 1953, the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Motor Vehicle Problems took the position that observational testimony of the indicia of intoxication was inaccurate and unpersuasive before a jury. The scientific blood alcohol content test was viewed as producing a more reliable type of evidence. Thus, in July, 1953, apparently acting on this assumption, section 71-a of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law was passed by the Legislature. This provision stated that any person driving a vehicle in New York State implicitly consents to a BAG test, administered at the direction of an officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that the driver is intoxicated. If the driver refused to submit to such test, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles was obligated to revoke the driver’s license or permit.8

[106]*106Shortly after its enactment, section 71-a was successfully challenged on due process grounds.9 The constitutional infirmity was twofold: (1) the statute did not require a valid arrest as a basis for the officer’s demand that the driver submit to a BAG test; and (2) a license could be revoked without a hearing. The Legislature responded, in 1954, by amending section 71-a to provide the following: (1) the police officer needed reasonable grounds to believe

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Bluebook (online)
124 Misc. 2d 102, 478 N.Y.S.2d 482, 1984 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3159, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-schmidt-nycrimct-1984.